Wednesday, December 26, 2012

2nd Day of Christmas -- Sarawen Perfume Art Review + Giveaway

Sarawen is an absolutely lovely shop full of perfumes-- but not just any perfumes, my dear! GEEKY perfumes!

As she says in her shop's description: "Unique perfume oils inspired by all things Literary, Magical, Historical, Gothic, and Geeky!"

Sara names each unique blend after characters and places that will make a bibliophile die of happiness. There are scents inspired by Sherlock Holmes, The Lord of the Rings, Greek mythology, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Peter Pan, traditional fairytales like Snow White, Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, and many, many more!

She's even got some Christmas-y perfumes up for a limited time.

The best part is that these perfumes are not only hand-blended, geeky, original, and beautifully scented, but they are affordable, too! Her perfumes are vegan, too(I know a few people who would be really excited to hear this).

A few months ago, I placed an order for several tiny perfumes samples and won a few more in a giveaway shortly thereafter (the first giveaway I'd ever won!). I am thoroughly impressed and thought I'd share a review of Sara's work before telling you more about the giveaway!

The package arrived all the way from Canada-- I'll admit that I was a little excited to see French on the package. I think that international packages are so much fun (even though they cost more... I always love mailing my jewelry internationally because then, even thought I can't travel there, something I've made is being enjoyed in another country!).

The packaging was so pretty that I just had to snap some pictures!

Here's my lovely haul! I simply couldn't pick, so I asked for random samples being sure to include at least one of the Elf inspired scents.

The samples came in miniature glass vials, which are cute (who doesn't love small things?) but I do have to be careful to store them upright because I had one leak a couple of drops when I left it on its side for a couple of days accidentally.

It's also a bit difficult to pop off the cap without risking the contents getting shaken out. Of course, it's just samples (there are very nice containers for regular sizes), but I was excited to see Sara post on facebook that she has new bottles for samples.

Now, I have to admit that I am not a perfume connoisseur. I've always used my mother's, or just some body spray. But now I'm in love with picking out perfumes to put on each day. Scents are very difficult to describe, but I shall do my best!

This is probably my favorite of them all:

ELF OF THE GOLDEN WOODFresh, lively lemon blossoms blended with the soft, yet woodsy note of vetiver, with a hint of underlying musk. Strolling through the Golden Wood, the scent of honeyed bread wafts by, perfuming the pure air with its sweetness.This is a Lord of the Rings fragrance inspired by the character of Haldir! This is a balanced unisex blend, perfect for all elven lads and lasses.

I don't know what kind of magic
perfume-making skills Sara has, but she somehow bottled up the smell of the summer woods in my backyard.

Seriously. It's a sweet scent at first (almost like the musk of blossoming honeysuckle bushes, but not as flowery) but underneath it is a faint crispy tang, like honey lemon tea or Pink Lady apples.

I may be the only one crazy enough to think this... but it's a mix of peridot green and midsummer-sun yellow. (Tell me I'm not crazy for sometimes comparing random things to colors).

This one is lovely and a runner-up for favorite scent! It's a girly, floral scent but also a little bit tangy and wild.

And it's inspired by Luthien and Arwen!!!!

Logical Deduction is probably my least favorite, but that doesn't mean I dislike it! It's a unisex scent, but to me it seems very masculine. It definitely has a hint of tobacco lurking in there, which is why I think I don't like it as much even though there is a richer, sophisticated smell above the tobacco. The sense of smell is closely related to memory, I've been told, and the tobacco make me think of the weird texture in the air at my grandparents' house back before Papa stopped smoking.

Elven Princeis another one of my favorites, even though it's supposed to be for guys! It's a fresh and earthly scent, almost like freshly mown grass. Definitely a lot of lemon! (I just love citrus smells).
This one is really hard to describe because I just keep thinking about a really lovely lemon yellow and can't think of words. It just smells yummy yellow, okay peeps???

I seriously can't think of anything but that this reminds me very strongly of my grandma's perfume. It's not the same, but so similar... Very violet-y. I like.

According to the description it is inspired by the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

Elf Kingis a very nice scent, a little like "Golden Wood" and "Elf Prince"-- an earthy scent. It reminds me of the woods at dusk. Although I can tell it is not as girly I still wear it because I love it. ^_^

Lionheart is one that I enjoy but don't wear much because, like Logical Deduction, it's definitely a more masculine scent. It's a lurking smells that I can't explain, a bit like honey or incense.

(The description says spice and sandalwood!)

Elf QueenGUYS! This is an elixir of petrichor!
For those of you who aren't Doctor Who geeks, "petrichor" is the word for "the smell of dust after rain."

This is an almost fierce, earthy smell that literally smells like our neighbor's hayfield on those gloriously gloomy, purple-gray days of contant rain.

It is "powerful yet sweet" with "notes of vanilla cream, honey, jasmine, and patchouli."

I love the quote that is in the description for this listing:

"... and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold ... but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory." ~ The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Baker's Boy is a really cool perfume inspired by Peeta from The Hunger Games. It's sweet in a fruity way, and after that initial impression, it smells a lot like cake or pancakes! The foodie in me is happy. :)

Lol, how's that for a very long post? Can you tell I was having fun attempting to describe smells? And yet after all this you're bound to not be able to imagine the scents very well at all.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Sarawen is giving away a 3-piece Middle Earth Sampler Set to one lucky reader of my blog!

I've been stalking her blog for probably a year now, but have yet to purchase any perfumes--partially because I'm broke, but partially because I just can't decide which one I want! I think I most want to try the Middle Earth ones, but just reading the description of almost all of them makes my heart pitter-patter with nerdy happiness. And oh my goodness, petrichor! I was leaning towards Elf Princess, but maybe I'll have to upgrade that to Queen.

I would LOVE to try "Elf Queen" and "Athena" especially, as they sound like they describe my personality - so I think my favourite item for sale would be the Perfume set of 2 with 55% of proceedings going to Animals Asia.

Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness! There are so many yummy flavors! (i mean scents!) The two Hunger Games ones stand out to me as well as the Yuletide at Baker's Street, but so many other ones sounded lovely as well! Like Artemis (which is the Greek alternate for my name).Wonderful!ladyofnarnia(at)yahoo(dot)com

I'm a 20 year old artist who loves studio art, graphic design, jewelry design, crafts, photography, and more. I am majoring in Graphic Design and in Illustration with a minor in Art History. I am the oldest in a large family, a proud bibliophile, and an all-around geek! You can reach me at shealynnsfaerieshoppe@gmail.com